The detective is dead, I did it.

Chapter 58 The Girl Who Wants to Be a Detective

"Misunderstanding... misunderstanding..."

The burly man forced a smile, afraid that his actions might have offended the high and mighty detective before him.

A murmur arose from the surrounding crowd.

Some people stood on tiptoe to get a better look, while others whispered the words "Detective Association," their tone carrying something between awe and curiosity.

Then a well-dressed middle-aged man squeezed into the crowd. He seemed to be the one who had been robbed and had witnessed the whole thing.

When he saw the identification in Li Ang's hand, he still mustered his courage and asked, "Does being a detective give you the right to steal?"

"The person who bumped into you just now slipped something into your hand; I saw it with my own eyes!"

"He gave me a wad of scrap paper." Li Ang took the crumpled paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and waved it in front of the man.

The man glanced at it, his suspicion undiminished. "Who knows if you prepared this beforehand?"

Without further ado, Li Ang unfolded the paper again and activated his ability.

Silver prompts appeared on the paper.

[A doodle by John McLean, with traces of ink and sweat on the paper, from a residence near Canning.]

Having a name makes things much easier; we can just arrest them directly.

However, he needs to clear his name of suspicion now.

Li Ang looked up at the middle-aged man. "What did you lose? When did you lose it?"

"A pocket watch!" The middle-aged man's voice rose several decibels. "A silver pocket watch, with patterns engraved on the case, made of pure gold! That's my most precious possession!"

"Two minutes ago, while I was organizing the goods, your... cough cough, that damn thief stole it from the counter."

The middle-aged man initially wanted to say "accomplice," but fearing he would anger the detective in front of him, he quickly changed his words.

"Your pocket watch wasn't stolen from the counter," Li Ang immediately refuted his idea. "It was when you bent over that the watch chain was sticking out of your clothes, and someone hooked it with their finger."

The man's expression changed. "How did you know?"

"Because your chain was still hanging on your waist. It's obvious that after the thief hooked out your pocket watch, he found that your chain was tied to your belt, so he had to untie the chain and take the pocket watch separately."

Lord said irritably.

If I hadn't been observant enough, I would have really been fooled by this man.

Not even knowing when it was stolen, you can only say this person has a really big heart.

"That's true."

The man's face flushed instantly. He hadn't expected to have such a ridiculous and erroneous idea, not even knowing where he had lost his pocket watch.

Just as Li Ang was about to continue speaking, a voice rang out from the crowd.

"Sir in the dark coat, please wait a moment."

All eyes followed the direction of the voice and landed on a young girl.

Although she was not tall, she looked very young and beautiful. Her long, dark brown hair was braided into a loose plait and hung down in front of her chest, with a light blue ribbon tied at the end, which swayed gently in the afternoon breeze.

She walked through the crowd and stood in front of a man who was about to leave.

"Why are you leaving, sir?"

The man's shoulders tensed slightly for a moment as he looked at the girl with an innocent, somewhat ingratiating smile on his face.

"Little girl, what are you saying? I was just passing by..."

"The person who ran out of the watch shop and you clearly exchanged glances. And you stayed in this alley for at least ten minutes, even when that person bumped into the detective, you were looking this way the whole time."

"You're that person's accomplice, aren't you?"

The man intended to leave without answering the girl's question, but he discovered that Li Ang had somehow appeared behind him, blocking his escape route.

The girl then looked at the middle-aged man and said, "This detective is right, your pocket watch wasn't stolen from the counter."

"You're left-handed and tend to keep valuables on your left. The thief approached from your left, and while you were bending over to organize your goods, he used his fingers to hook open the clasp and take the pocket watch. The whole process took no more than three seconds. You didn't even feel the weight change at your waist."

The middle-aged man was utterly shocked, clearly not understanding why the young girl in front of him knew he was left-handed.

The girl shifted her gaze from the middle-aged man. "The person who stole the pocket watch is still on this street."

"He had already run away, but when he bumped into this gentleman, he dropped his own things. So he had to come back to look for them."

She crouched down and picked up a brass button from a corner. The edge was worn, and there was a line of blurry words engraved on the back.

This is Newcastle that fell off the thief.

The girl stood up and held the button up to the crowd.

"These buttons are mass-produced by clothing stores, but the name of the person who ordered them is engraved on the back. By checking the records, we can find out who bought them."

In the crowd, one person started to back away.

However, the girl's gaze was already fixed on that person, and she pointed directly at him.

"It's him."

All eyes turned to that person.

He was wearing a dark coat, and indeed, a button was missing from the cuff, revealing a thin thread.

Li Ang recognized him at a glance; this was the person who had bumped into him earlier.

So Li Ang summoned his black sword and, relying on the intimidation of being an armed detective, easily subdued the two thieves.

After Li Ang retrieved the pocket watch from the thief and returned it to the middle-aged man, he looked at the young girl.

"Thank you," he said. "That's excellent observation."

"You're welcome." The girl's lips curved slightly, a faint smile. "Even if I didn't ask, you would have found him. I just... couldn't help it."

Her gaze fell on Li Ang's pocket.

It was as if he was looking through the clothes at the detective's badge inside, his eyes revealing a very complex expression.

Envy and sighs intertwined, like someone standing outside a shop window looking at a piece of clothing they could never afford.

"Are you an armed detective?" she asked.

"Yes. Armed detectives." Li Ang nodded.

"Very impressive." The girl lowered her gaze and gently twirled her fingers on the hem of her skirt.

"I used to think that as long as I worked hard enough, I could become someone like you." She looked up, her blue eyes filled with envy.

"Later I learned that being a detective requires talent. It's innate. Without ability, no amount of effort will help."

Upon hearing the girl's words, Li Ang activated his ability and glanced at her.

[An ordinary person.]

Pity.

With such keen observation skills, yet just an ordinary person, he was destined never to become a detective.

He looked away, took out the business card Charlotte had insisted on giving him before he left, and handed it to her.

The other party said, "A detective should act like a detective; you can't do without a business card," which had his name and address printed on it.

"You did me a favor today. If you ever need any help in the future, feel free to come to me."

The girl took the business card, glanced at it, then looked up, something flashing in her eyes.

"I will." She put the business card in her pocket, said a simple goodbye, and left.